PRINCESS KATLE'A PACED, trying to burn off a need that wouldn't be satisfied while she flew alone on her ship. She gave a moment’s thought to the summons from Captain Trickle, which had come at an extremely inopportune time, then shoved the thought aside.
Skin hot, boots banging on the floor, her heart pounded out an impatient rhythm. She didn’t want to be thinking about the upcoming mission, whatever it was. Better to daydream about the wizard she’d kept time with for the past ten days.
Oh, the wizard. His hair dark and wet, eyes changing color with the sea, hand warm on her thigh. The water swirled around, their surf-crafts locked to form a bed in the ocean that sang and rocked in time with their salty dance.
That wizard had so many tricks up his sleeve she could’ve stayed for a year enjoying them. The last sunset had been mind-blowing—until the ambiguous order had come through.
KatLe'a would fry that hand-biting raccoon if the mission wasn’t as urgent as Trickle had made it seem.
Too bothered from unfinished business with the wizard, the pacing wasn’t going to cut it. KatLe’a hopped on the virtual surf machine for a couple of sets. Afterwards, halfway through a shower so cold it could freeze the lust off of a Hornai from Groanad, the damn alarm went off.
Her heart jumped into her throat. The shrill siren meant immediate danger, and there was no one at the helm.
The princess grabbed a towel, dried off enough that she wouldn’t wipe out on the way to the bridge, and sprinted through the ship. Hair dripping, she killed the autopilot and scanned the controls.
Sure enough, a rogue Waanker had crept up on the Maverick Dawn while she’d been trying to deal with wizard withdrawal. How had they caught up to her in light-drive? Must’ve been riding her wake.
"Damn." Increasingly uncouth words streamed out while she considered whether to blast them out of the sky or try to run. The Waanker was primitive compared to the Maverick, but what it lacked in bling and grace it made up with raw speed.
Quick fingers armed the weapons as she calculated a maneuver the space-sharks wouldn’t expect. Not easy to pull off by herself, but she’d left her crew partying on Micavich. She hadn’t wanted them to interrupt her rendezvous with the wizard.
Sure grip on the flight-stick, KatLe’a braced herself as she increased the throttle and brought the ship around for a shot. But she wasn’t fast enough.
The Waanker fired first. The shield blocked it, but the ship shook with the effort, and her towel dropped into her lap.
Jaw clenched, she throttled up, the Maverick screaming through space towards the other ship. With a flick of a trigger she engaged the big guns, not interested in playing games with low-life space vultures.
BOOM! There. Bye bye, Waanker. You fucked with the wrong starship.
The princess leaned back. Blowing up the other ship was almost as satisfying as surfing with the wizard. Okay, not even close, but it would have to do.
Drops of water fell onto her chest as she guided the Maverick away from the debris and resumed course for her meeting with the Dronefly. Another hour or so before she had to deal with Captain Trickle and figure out what the fuss was all about.
With a sigh, she put the Maverick back on autopilot. She didn’t want to show up half-naked, and beach-wear wasn’t going to cut it. Time to pull out some clothes that fit her reputation as the ambassador who’d won the dance-off of Hanumanaria and negotiated the end of the Five World War, all in the same night.
In case you’re wondering what the heck this story is about, this post is a part of Steem Wars, organized by 
The Dronefly Crew:
as Captain Trickle
as Lain Dakota
as Randel Tolp (this post is past payout but freaking hilarious)
- @Catherine813 as Miss Fixit
- And, of course,
as Princess KatLe’a
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it!
(gifs via giphy, Steem Wars image via
Author bio: Katrina Ariel is an old-soul rebel, musician, tree-hugging yogini, and mama bear to twins. Author of Yoga for Dragon Riders (non-fiction) and Wild Horse Heart (romance), she's another free-spirit swimming in the ocean of Steemit.
dragon art: Liiga Smilshkalne
Banner by @PegasusPhysics
